Describe how the images, sounds, and writing change your experience of a puzzle.
Where is Phil? is the sequel I have been waiting for. I learned a lot about Phil in the previous installment, Who is Phil?, but his life was so interesting I found myself wanting to know more about the how and why of it.
The story of this game interacted with the sounds and rules to help fulfill my curiosity about Phil and his interactions with his family and the world around him. We start off the game by understanding we need to collect all the grass to continue on based off of the dialogue. Phil must really love his grass, as it also made an appearance in the original game. What drilled this idea into the player’s head though was how when Phil interacted with grass, he detached from his owner, likely enjoying the grass too much. Then the player had to go back and get him. Luckily for him, it was to go and get more grass.
The sound of his excited bunny hops really pulled the player into this experience with Phil, with them traveling and working together to get all the grass. Every move was calculated but also fun. It wasn’t always easy though, with the interaction of the various rules, sometimes it was challenging to get him to go to the correct spot. The player can really tell that while Phil may love grass and his owner, he’s not exactly the easiest to get along with sometimes. In the previous game, we could see that with him tearing up clothes all over the house.
The story developed as the player cares more about Phil, wanting to get him as much grass as possible, and find even greener pastures. Then traps are introduced and when you accidentally move him on to one, it’s so sad to see him get hurt and the level reset. I felt like I needed to get him even more grass to make up for my mistake. Phil is a great bunny and all of these elements of the game worked together to help me realize that, and understand what being part of his family would possibly be like.